Deborah S. Welch

Deborah Welch, President of Respect, Incorporated, started her career in Finance and used those skills, as well as those in marketing and strategic planning, to successfully manage a $50 million international electronics business for DuPont. Her tenure as a business manager, and as a member of the leadership team for a $500 million films business, taught her the importance of human capital.

While with DuPont, Deborah pioneered the use of multi-cultural team building interventions during global business meetings, significantly improving cross-functional and cross-regional communication and collaboration, and directly increasing net profit margins. She designed a leadership development program for the exempt manufacturing staff adding flexibility and competitiveness to the business. These efforts, combined with a unique and comprehensive cost analysis and restructuring plan, contributed to a significant financial turnaround.

Ms. Welch joined DuPont leadership on the cutting edge of diversity training as a member of the original "CoreGroup" exploring issues of race and gender, and as a co-designer of the first Women's Conference, a three-day experience for 150 women that enhanced their status in the organization, their contributions and their career opportunities.

Externally, Deborah worked with representatives of the Digital Equipment Corporation and Procter and Gamble to share technology for moving diversity through major organizations. Ms. Welch presented at the American Society of Women Personnel Administrators conference in Washington, DC. on diversity best practices.

Ms. Welch presented at the University of Cincinnati Diversity conference and conducted workshops across the US on sexual harassment for Federal Publications. She has been a judge for the Delaware Quality Consortium's Awards, and has spoken about diversity and its link to quality at the Delaware State meeting of the American Society of Quality Control. Through Respect, she has been featured in numerous newspapers and books, and often speaks before professional organizations, including the Delaware Employers' Council, the Inscape Publishing International Business Conference, and the Women's Entrepreneurial Conference of the Chamber of Commerce of New Castle County.

As one of the founding partners of Respect Inc., and now its President, Ms. Welch has grown the business from a small diversity boutique to a full business effectiveness company. She has expanded into E-learning and team alignment tools, using Human Coordination Technology, powered by SchellingPoint. She is currently incorporating new brain research into traditional training methods to provide “real-time” change management for clients.

Deborah has served as a chairperson of the largest fund-raiser for the Delaware Division of the American Cancer Society. She is currently a board member and Chair of the Development Committee of the Wellness Community Delaware, ensuring long-term funding for emotional and educational support for people with cancer and their families.

She is active in the Delaware Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management, serving as a board member and Treasurer. She has been President and Membership Chair for the Forum of Executive Women Delaware. An avid golfer, Deborah is also Treasurer of the Delaware Chapter of the Executive Women’s Golf Association.

Ms. Welch graduated from Juniata College with a BS degree in Business Administration. She has had multiple learning experiences at the National Training Labs (NTL) in Washington, D.C. whose T-group technology influences her experiential training methods.